Charges for Mallard's owners

Joe Goldeen

Tuesday

Nov 27, 2007 at 12:07 AM

STOCKTON - Criminal charges have been filed against the owners of Mallard's restaurant over their alleged failure to report payroll and withholding taxes to the state, according to the San Joaquin County District Attorney's Office.

STOCKTON - Criminal charges have been filed against the owners of Mallard's restaurant over their alleged failure to report payroll and withholding taxes to the state, according to the San Joaquin County District Attorney's Office.

They also have been hit with the maximum $100,000 fine by the California Department of Industrial Relations for not having required worker's compensation insurance, agency spokesman Dean Fryer said Monday. They have until Dec. 5 to pay the fine or file an appeal.

Arrest warrants are imminent for four members of the Sang family as the investigation continues and "tons of documents" are sorted through to determine if further charges will be filed, Deputy District Attorney Sudha Rajender said Monday.

Each of the six charges filed to date carries a maximum three-year prison sentence that could result in a total of 18 years in state prison for patriarch Richard Sang of Stockton, his wife, Amber Lao, and adult sons Richie Sang and Brookes Sang if they are convicted. The younger Sangs reportedly live in Southern California.

Each family member is charged under the California Unemployment Insurance Code with failure to report payroll to the Employment Development Department and failure to report money they withheld to employees for 2005, 2006 and 2007.

The Sang family's SC Restaurants Inc. bought the Stockton Mallard's, 3409 Brookside Road, and the Modesto Mallard's in McHenry Village from founder Dan Costa, a Modesto entrepreneur, in November 2005.

They closed the Stockton Mallard's without warning Oct. 14, a day before Pacific Gas and Electric Co. was set to turn off the power for nonpayment. The Modesto Mallard's has remained open and is expected to continue operating through the holiday season, according to an employee who answered the phone there Monday.

About 60 Stockton employees, meanwhile, were left to fend for themselves with bounced paychecks or no paychecks and no record of employment, according to the state, which initially denied them unemployment insurance benefits.

At least one employee has had her case resolved and will start receiving state benefits.

"I did hear back from unemployment, and I'm going to get that now. I'm working at Papapavlo's, but it's not full time yet," said Lisa Iliff, a former server and manager at Mallard's. She said Monday that she was happy to hear that authorities are following up and taking action against the Sang family.

"I thought it was going to take a lot longer for things to happen. I'm so glad that somebody is taking this seriously. I don't understand how what they did could go on this long," Iliff said.

Designated family spokesman Richie Sang, since initially speaking with The Record, has not responded to repeated messages left on his cell phone seeking comment. Again Monday, he did not respond.

On Nov. 20, search warrants issued by San Joaquin County were carried out at the two restaurants and the Willowbrook Circle home in Stockton occupied by Richard Sang.

"We got tons of documents - boxes and boxes - and a lot of computers. We've got a lot of documentation to sort through and decide what kinds of counts (to file). We will most likely be filing more charges," said Rajender, the San Joaquin prosecutor leading the investigation with the cooperation of the Stanislaus County district attorney and state agencies.

Agents also seized three vehicles, including a 1982 DeLorean and a 2002 Mercedes-Benz ML500 SUV, and numerous household appliances all believed to be purchased with proceeds from illegal activities.

"I've never seen a case like this before. These guys have gotten away with this for some time, and nobody has been interested in prosecuting them before. It's very complicated," said Rajender, assigned to the district attorney's insurance fraud unit.